Blog Journal #2

My Life and Microsoft Word 

I'm a big fan of Microsoft Word. What can I say? I was pretty psyched when I found out that we could download it for free as students my freshman year. Suddenly, my life was changed (for the better). I've used it to write journal entrees, create graphs, type up assignments for school, and just about everything in between. The real question should be, "What haven't you used Word for?" I've seen my teachers use it too! They're pretty much pros. Almost everything I'm assigned in school is typed up on word. It's a good thing too because I know how to use it and after learning a whole lot more about Word in class last week, I guess you could say that I'm kind of a pro now too. 

Copyright and Fair Use

A long, long time ago, before I was an English major, I thought I was going to be a Communications major. I took A LOT of communication classes. One of them being Public Relations. In the class we learned a lot about copyright and fair use. We got into the nitty gritty and discussed landmark court cases that set the foundation for our current copyright laws. I learned that it can be pretty tricky (especially if you're a teacher). So be careful out there! Teachers don't make enough $$$ as it is. The last thing you wanna do is get sued for trying to educate the youth. There are greedy people out there who don't care about your good intentions. 

If I become a teacher one day, I'm gonna make sure I'm up-to-date with the laws regarding copyright because as technology advances, the rules about digital property become more complex. They can get a little confusing, but taking the time to familiarize yourself with the current law governing our work is worth it if it means you won't get sued. After I familiarize myself, I'm gonna pass on the information to my students to make sure they understand. The last thing I would want is my kiddos getting in trouble for trying to do their work (again, greedy people don't care about your intentions... they only care about the mulaaa). I'd probably create some sort of copyright challenge game quiz with a cool prize awarded to the winning team. This would help student remember in a fun way!

I have an idea to tackle the issue of online privacy in a classroom setting (as long as the kids are young enough and can get excited about it). I would help the kids create an alias or a spy identity to use on digital platforms. They could use any name- silly or serious- as long as it's not their own. Like Chuck Lizard or Granny Smith. This would ensure that my students were safe online even if they accidentally posted personal information.  

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